Bright Eyes, M. Ward Rally for Obama

Happy Super Tuesday, Americans! As the Democratic and Republican front-runners duke it out state-by-state for that elusive party nomination and citizens of this fair land puzzle over the complex delegate process, the indie rock political bloc continues to mobilize.

This Thursday, February 7-- not long after the Super Tuesday dust has settled-- Bright Eyes and M. Ward will take to the stage at Omaha's Slowdown to voice their support for their candidate of choice: Senator Barack Obama. This is of course not the first time Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst has sung praises of Obama; the Saddle Creek songsmith previously rocked an Iowa caucus rally back in January.

Joining Bright Eyes and Ward at the Slowdown hoedown are Jim Ward (Sparta, ex-At the Drive-In) and San Francisco's Secret Life of Sparrows.

Should you plan on checking out this free gig, be prepared to put your (metaphorical) money where your mouth is: "You must either register to vote or sign a pledge card in order to get a ticket," according to the Slowdown website, and the free tickets don't necessarily guarantee admission.

Nebraska will hold primaries for both major parties on May 13, 2008 its Democratic caucus on February 9 and its Republican counterpart May 13. Given the incredibly tight races in each camp this election year, votes cast that day those days could very well make a huge difference.

Thanks to reader Matthew Helt for the heads up.

Slits Hit the States on Tour, Cut New EP

Photo by Jen Ray

Primitive post-punkers and lovers of the dub the Slits have lined up a rare tour of the United States in the month of March. Joining the iconic crew for this excursion will be Brooklyn's own Shellshag, while the wonderfully named This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb drop by to stir up some ruckus on a few dates.

Ari Up and her fellow Amazons kick things off March 5 in New York City, swoop down to SXSW mid-month, and ultimately make their way to the ancient, uncharted jungles of Hoboken, New Jersey.

And if you want to buy and need something new, get ready to "Spend, Spend, Spend" at the merch table, as the Slits will have a brand new EP available to satisfy your music consumption needs. Australia's Exo Records will deliver the three-track Hated unto us come March. [MORE...]

Coroner Rules Pimp C's Death Accidental

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined an official cause of the untimely December 4 death of Houston rapper Pimp C yesterday (February 4), according to a TMZ.com.

The report cites spokesman Ed Winter as saying that the death was accidental, "a result of a pre-existing condition of sleep apnea combined with an elevated amount of prescription codeine in his blood."

As a member of UGK, Pimp C (born Chad Butler) peppered his lyrics with references to the cough syrup concoction known as "drank," "sizzurp," and "lean," among other names. Unfortunately, this is not the first time a member of the Houston hip-hop community has had a fatal interaction with codeine. DJ Screw (of "Chopped and Screwed" fame) died as the result of an overdose in 2000, and it is suspected that Big Moe's heart attack last year was the result of the same.

Boris Announce Smile Release Date, Single Details
Unveil press photo taken at the sun's core

All set to release Smile, their first non-collaborative album in two years, Japan's mighty Boris have announced the details of the new record's first single.

The 7"-only release will feature Smile track "Statement" with exclusive B-side "Floorshaker". Southern Lord will release the single in a run of 3,000 copies on February 26, and a "Statement" video will also appear sometime this month.

Southern Lord has also given Smile a release date: April 29. There is still no tracklist or tour to speak of, but the trio has a one-off show at the Knitting Factory in New York City on March 4. UPDATE: They are also performing at London's Cargo on February 24.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Announce More Dates

With the March 4 release of Real Emotional Trash a mere month away, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are in a giving mood. First, there was their entry into Matador's "Buy Early Get Now" ranks. Now, it's the announcement of even more dates on their upcoming North American tour.

Most of the new dates come in April and May, after the previously reported ones in March and early April with John Vanderslice. Joining Le Malk and co. for the newly added shows will be Portland homeboys the Joggers.

Thanks to reader Scott Diana for the tip. [MORE...]

National, TVOTR Members Play Brooklyn Next Fest
Also: My Brightest Diamond, Excepter, Travis Morrison

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Brooklyn Next festival, now in its second year, "celebrates Brooklyn’s groundbreaking diverse music scene." And what a scene it is. When the fest descends upon the New York City borough next month, it will bring with it performances by the National, Travis Morrison Hellfighters, My Brightest Diamond, Excepter, Laura Cantrell, White Rabbits, Favourite Sons, Death Vessel, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Ola Podrida, Effi Briest, DJ Spinna, Takka Takka, Skeletons and Kings of All Cities, Death Vessel, Tony Conrad, Dragons of Zynth, former Del Fuegos lead singer Dan Zanes and friends, as well as a birthday tribute to Johnny Cash and a two-man set from Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio.

And that's hardly the whole lineup. In fact, over the course of February 15-16 and February 20-24, 17 Brooklyn venues will feature more than 175 performances, not to mention a few art exhibits and workshops.

Asthmatic Kitty Reveals Encyclopedia DVD Tracklist

Photo from DVD menu, designed by Zack and Gala Bent

For an encyclopedia, this thing may seem short on words. But do the math on Asthmatic Kitty's forthcoming Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD and the matter comes into perspective: 32 videos x approximately 4 minutes in average length x 60 seconds per minute x 30 frames per second x 1,000 words per frame/picture = we're looking at a 230,400,000-word volume. Eat that, Encyclopedia Britannica!

Lest you think we're just having fun with numbers for the hell of it, know there's a reason behind this here dispatch. The previously reported Encyclopedia Asthmatica now has a tracklist, chalk full of all the usual AK suspects: Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, Castanets, Rafter, the Curtains, Shapes and Sizes, Bunky, Half-Handed Cloud, and Liz Janes.

From SXSW showcases and live performances to official music videos to a piece by the Think/Dance Collective, there's a sumptuous two-hour feast of visual material for you to devour here, and it can all be yours come March 4. For the especially anxious, Asthmatic Kitty began taking pre-orders today. [MORE...]

Feist Announces Spring American Tour

Perhaps inspired by her new association with the Olympics, Leslie Feist is taking on some almost superhuman feats of agility and endurance when it comes to scheduling her time in 2008. In between her previously reported Australian tour dates and a late spring tour of Europe, Feist will carry that torch through a couple weeks' worth of gigs in the U.S. in April. Pace yourself, dudette!

As for the rest of the Feist rundown, a version of "Honey Honey" from a BBC session will appear on the forthcoming Green Owl environmental benefit compilation, and her "My Moon My Man" will get a digital UK single February 11 from Polydor.

Oh, Feist will perform at this weekend's Grammy telecast, where she may well receive any number of the four awards she's up for. You may wind up "Best New Artist" to the powers that be, Ms. Feist, but you and us go wayyyyy back. [MORE...]

School of Language Plans North American Tour
Plays dates in UK, Ireland besides

Former (for now) Field Musician David Brewis will launch his debut solo tour of North America this March, one month after he issues his School of Language debut Sea From Shore via Thrill Jockey tomorrow (February 5).

Filling out the School of Language touring band will be bassist Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day, Brokeback) and drummer Ryan Rapsys (Euphone, Ambulette).

Prior to his North American jaunt, Brewis has a handful of UK and Irish solo dates this month. [MORE...]

Robert Wyatt Guests on First Billy Bragg LP in Six Years

It's hard to believe that with everything that's been going on in the last six years, there's been no Billy Bragg album to rail against it. Bragg's last full-length, England, Half English, dropped back in the comparably normal 2002. But things being what they are in the incomparably weird 2008, Billy couldn't keep his big mouth shut. That's awfully good news.

Cooking Vinyl will release Bragg's Mr. Love & Justice March 3 in the UK, while Anti- serves up the North American edition April 22. So what's Billy on about this time? Well, love and justice, of course, and the relationship between beloved television personalities and cancer causing agents, if "The Johnny Carcinogenic Show" is any indication. Also: politics and stuff.

Billy will be joined on vocals by fellow elder statesman Robert Wyatt for album opener "I Keep Faith", while Small Faces ivory-tickler Ian McLagan contributes a little organ and piano as a member of Billy's backing band, the Blokes. What's more, there are two versions of Love & Justice on the way: one is a single disc of Bragg backed by his Blokes, while the other is double-disc set with the Blokes LP and Billy performing the same songs by his lonesome.

Billy's got one more Australian tour date to attend to before heading back to the UK for a couple more. He'll then make his way to the U.S., dropping in at the Anti- label SXSW showcase. A few European dates and a return to the UK will follow. [MORE...]

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid Team for African Album

Legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid and jack-of-all-electronic-trades Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) have collaborated once again. The Steve Reid Ensemble's new album Daxaar comes out tomorrow, February 5, via Domino.

Reid, Hebden, and keyboardist Boris Netsvetaev traveled to Dakar, Senegal in January 2007 to record the album with a group of African musicians, including guitarist Jimi Mbaye (a member of Youssou N'Dour's band), bassist Dembel Diop, trumpeter Roger Ongolo and percussionist Khadim Badji. The album's title comes from an historical spelling of Dakar.


Reid and Hebden visited Domino's East Village Radio show today to talk about Daxaar and yet another record they are recording in New York next week. A podcast of the show is available online at eastvillageradio.com. A documentary about their trip to Africa can be viewed here. [MORE...]

Black Kids Sign to Almost Gold Outside North America
Prep single, think about possibly maybe getting to work on that debut

Photo by Mike White

Black Kids almost signed to Almost Gold Recordings when they linked with parent company Quest Management last fall, if you take "almost" to mean "not really at all." Flash forward a few months to now, though, and we find the ascendent quintet has in fact signed to Almost Gold for real-- but only outside North America. A record deal for the Jacksonville crew's home continent is still coming together.

Almost Gold will kick off the new relationship by treating UK audiences to a single for Pitchfork's 68th favorite track of 2007, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You", on April 7. Long before that, however, Black Kids will treat the UK to a hearty helping of themselves. Having wrapped up a run of dates with Friendly Fires and Ipso Facto, BK will link up with Sons & Daughters later this week and come face to face with droves of Kate Nash fans come late February. After that it's Coachella or bust.

But oh wait, that's right, Black Kids don't even have an album yet (just that EP). That should change at some point in 2008, as the Kids have plans to hit the studio in March, with eyes on a fall release for the moment. We can look forward to a couple more singles between now and then. [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)